Grounded.

I was without truth
from all that you are
the form of your beauty before me!
how passionate, grace, YOU are IT!
Heaven sent…
a bliss,
an attempt,
You are grounded.
If once I could gaze,
just gaze at your beauty
would I then float away
from the powers that be?
Rescue me
from my pit,
I dig deep when without you…
I am buried,
no hope-
STILL you’re grounded.
I was without truth
so a part from “I AM”
I once could not see,
now I got it.

V.H.

In the Know

Introduction—

• Briefly explain being in the know.

• Are you in the know? What are you in the know about?

• But what are you in the know about Jesus?

Matthew 11:20-30

1. Keeping them out of the know

   1. Jesus is praising God for keeping His all-important gospel message hidden from “the wise and intelligent,” while revealing it to infants. What does that mean?

      1. Becoming a newborn spiritually

      2. We grow up in this world, and even as young, rather inexperienced, we can think we know it all—we so easily become wise in our own eyes!

      3. Personal Testimony—I grew up thinking I was a Christian and thinking I was saved. Everyone wants to believe they're saved and in the know! No “I'm in the know,” even if we have to fake it! I got this assumption I was saved and in the know from people not from what I saw and understood in the bible. My faith wasn't based on God's promises but other people's version. My parents were religious and raised me to think I was a Christian. They read the bible but were not in the know about repentance and living out God's word. So because the people around me were religious “Christians” by title and not by heart and action, I knew very little about living word of God! Sure I had a King James version and tried to read it. It was so hard to understand without someone to explain it to me. On top of the fact that I was not very literate. But I still thought and made others around me think I was in the know!

   2. Here we see how Jesus feels about our repentance!

      1. We know repentance means transformation—from the inside out—complete change.

      2. Powerful works had been done and their hearts were not moved!

      3. Look up Tyre, Sidon and Sodom

   3. Here we also see God's judgment is a very serious thing.

      1. I've heard people say, “You don't know my heart! God knows my heart!”

      2. That person was right, yet it was often said in pride or self-defense.

      3. The fact that God knows our hearts (all our inmost thoughts, desires, and secrets—what is hidden will be exposed) makes Him the only One fit to judge.

         1. That is actually one of the most humbling things to realize!

         2. It even helps you realize His love—that He knows you and wants a relationship with you.

   4. Practicals: Do you know what repentance is biblically? Are you in the know about your sin and how God feels about sin? Have you studied it out in the bible? I know mom, dad, grandma, youth pastor growing up are good people, but you'll never hear it from God unless you look at the Scriptures and see for yourself! They are there speaking even if we don't listen! So I want to encourage you to take a good look at yourself and the Scriptures

2. Bringing us in the know

   1. Jesus has a special relationship with the God Father.

      1. We can think we know God—most human beings think they are in the know about God and that is the problem!

      2. We may think we know God, but Jesus says no one knows the Father except the Son

      3. Jesus had this relationship before any of us were ever able to—think of Enoch, Abraham, Israel, Joseph, Moses, Samuel, David, Elijah, Isaiah, Jeremiah, John the Baptist—no one knows God unless Jesus makes Him known to them!

   2. We can know for certain He wants to personally invite as many as possible into this special relationship of knowing God.

      1. But He has to choose to reveal it to us!

   3. There is something we learn here that we cannot miss or we will never come into the know—we will remain in the dark and it will be kept hidden.

      1. What do you think is so important for us to realize from this passage?

   4. Practicals: Do you really know the Bible? Can you even teach the basic things? Humble yourself to learn from someone else (if you're new we're going to ask you to study the bible).

3. To know His rest

   1. It says He has a yoke—

      1. What is a yoke?

      2. It illustrates that you are bound to Christ

      3. He says it is easy though

         1. Sometimes it doesn't feel so easy to be bound to Christ—can you relate?

            • We want to be cool—the need to feel important perhaps?

            • So many of our sinful desires can be so easy to fulfill

   2. He has a burden—

      1. What is a burden?

      2. It illustrates a load that needs to be carried--work that He has to be done.

      3. It is light though

      4. Sometimes this work does not seem light though--can you relate?
         

   3. Although sometimes the yoke may not seem easy and the burden may not seem light, what makes His yoke easy and burden light?

      1. The constant refreshment we now have being in the know!

Conclusion—

• Summed up: God has a way for us to be in the know, and He keeps us out of the know if we don't come His way, but the know is what life is all about—where we know God

Prayer:

Praise you God for keeping your message hidden from us when we're prideful.

Thank you God for being our Father too.

You humble us and bring us to repentance—a childlike heart.

Thank you for all the ways you lead us to repentance because that is where have a relationship with you. That is where we become and stay close to you as your children. We get adopted through repentance and the blood of Jesus.

Praise you God for the never ending fountain of refreshment to our soul in you!

We want to totally surrender to your awesome and loving hands.

We want to have hearts that totally embrace your

Fear Biblically

 

2/11/09

By Bob Wedin

There are many rational fears? 1. Being eaten by sharks, 2. being burned alive, 3. fear of heights

Whatever you fear

Guys are pridefully insecure—putting on a front, shell, but you won't show anyone.

What are some of the things that make you afraid?

Some shared: birds, being static shocked, cockroaches, being home alone, people under the bed or hiding in some part of your house (maybe turn the lights on to help overcome fear?), drowning, spiders,

Fear is mentioned so many times in the bible—it is a really big thing that applies to all of us. It is mentioned in the bible 326 and afraid is mentioned over 200 times.

Definition of fear-a distressing emotion aroused by impending danger, evil, pain, etc., whether the threat is real or imagined; the feeling or condition of being afraid (www.dictionary.com).

There are so many phobias.

"Have no fear God is here."

• The fear of being without God is the greatest fear the bible talks about.

  • Example, we experience this when we fear being separated from our parents.

  • When we are young we can think we're indestructible.

Psalm 34:4-11

4 I sought the LORD, and he answered me;
       he delivered me from all my fears.

 5 Those who look to him are radiant;
       their faces are never covered with shame.

 6 This poor man called, and the LORD heard him;
       he saved him out of all his troubles.

 7 The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him,
       and he delivers them.

 8 Taste and see that the LORD is good;
       blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.

 9 Fear the LORD, you his saints,
       for those who fear him lack nothing.

 10 The lions may grow weak and hungry,
       but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.

 11 Come, my children, listen to me;
       I will teach you the fear of the LORD.

• David represents the fearless person. He didn't fear man or animals but he did fear God.

• The Psalms are so real when you read them—we feel what he says here so often and he talks a lot about trusting in God and not fearing

Proverbs 9:10-11

The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom

Isaiah 51

Why God takes people from this earth

Proverbs 22:4

4 Humility and the fear of the LORD
       bring wealth and honor and life.

• When you fear God, you stop trying to do wrong and you start trying to do right.

  • Your life has integrity and integrity has many rewards in the long run reward

Ecclesiastes 12:13-14

13 Now all has been heard;
       here is the conclusion of the matter:
       Fear God and keep his commandments,
       for this is the whole duty of man.

 14 For God will bring every deed into judgment,
       including every hidden thing,
       whether it is good or evil.

• He tested all things, had wealth, pleasure, fame, and found it wanting—in the end it was fearing God that mattered most.

We realize that God wants to help us overcome fear in a relationship with Him. He wants to bring security where life has beaten us down. We need to start with fearing God.

Response: James 1 says if anyone lacks wisdom he should ask God.

Give it to the Lord

As the Campus4Christ I'd like to focus on one of our four-fold purposes
As a review, the four-fold purposes are:
Connecting to God
Connecting to one another
Connecting the lost to God
Connecting to the poor and needy
Would like to focus on the last purpose tonight: Connecting to the poor and needy
As you know, we in the Campus Ministry are held to a higher standard to serve because most of us do not have a full-time job, or kids to feed or kids to take to golf practice
If you are visiting tonight, some of the things that we do together as both a Campus Ministry and also collectively as a church are:
Serve the homeless at St. Vincent de Paul
Serve the elderly at Villa Ocotillo, which was this past Sunday
Great time to reach out and talk to those who have lived their life fully and can tell great stories about what life was like when they were young
Noblesse Oblige
High school motto
Etymology is French, and the literal meaning is "Nobility Obligates"
If born of a higher social class, you were expected to act with honor, generosity, and other attributes of that nature
The interpretation that my school made out of it was "To whom much is given, much is expected"
Sometimes difficult to see how we were given much
School has been around since 1927 and we never had a gym
We often wondered where all of our tuition money went, because it wasn't cheap
We were giving much, so we expected a gym
Finally after all these years we are getting a gym
Scheduled to be completed in May of this year
Looking back on it, we realized that we lost sight of all the things that we did have
In the Campus Ministry, sometimes we focus so much on what we don't have, that we don't see how much we have to give
Proverbs 19:17

Point #1: We Are Given Much

Let's look at an instance in the Bible when a woman who does not have much gives much more than is expected of her
Mark 12:41-44
As college students we are relatively poor
We have same struggles as this woman - always being in need/tight budget
Parallel that can be drawn in Western society is that time = money
We are all extremely busy, but if we were called to do so, would we be able to drop all we were doing to follow Jesus? Would we be able to drop all we were doing to serve God's kingdom?
This past week we saw an excellent example of three brothers who did just this
Reminds me of what a wise man once said, "An ounce of gold is not worth an ounce of time"
Dropped everything that was going on in their lives to help serve Campus ministries across the country for a year
This is truly inspiring, and has caused me to reflect on my bucket list
I'm sure many of you have a bucket list as well, and some of my goals are to:
Get a hole-in-one in golf
Bowl a 300 (perfect game)
Go skydiving/base jumping
But these are superficial and worldly ambitions
One of my major goals is to go to the Philippines, which is where my heritage lies, and help build the church and Campus Ministry there

Point #2: Much is Expected of Us

1 Peter 4:8-11
Romans 12:4-8
I really like this passage because it calls each and every one of us to use the gifts that God gave us to serve others
Relates to our four-fold purpose
Some of us are really good at praying to God and leading others in prayer
Others of us promote unity and can relate or connect with everyone in the ministry
There are also the evangelists, who are extremely bold and can go up to anyone and everyone to share their faith
Still others of us have a heart that rejoices in serving others, especially those who need it most such as the poor and elderly
As many of you know, I have gone on three medical missions to Mexico with a Christian Medical Organization, which got me interested in going into the field of Nursing
A group of surgeons, nurses, and general helpers (of which I was one) go down to Mexico to help the poorest of the poor
We perform surgeries that would cost tens of thousands to even hundreds of thousands of dollars in the United States at no cost to the patients
There's nothing like the feeling at the end of the week when we review the numbers to see how many people's lives we have touched
We not only help improve the quality of life for the patients, but also relieve a burden from the patient's families
Something that I have learned on these trips is that God will always provide because He never has failed us when we asked Him of things during the trips
Before the missions we have had times where we needed supplies, and the medical supply companies Air-Mailed it to us overnight completely free of charge
We have also had a few patients who should have died during the surgeries, but I believe it is by the grace of God that they survived
I am very excited about going to the Philippines this summer
Isaiah 6:8
Are we this eager to serve?
It’s a great thing for our hearts to serve those in a Third World Country
It also really helps those that are on the mission to see just how blessed we are to live in the United States
We will be helping the Campus Ministry there grow
According to an old Chinese proverb: "Give a man a fish and you will feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime."
This relates to our trip because instead of just giving money to the Philippines, we will be going there to help lead them
Full days
Evangelism
Getting to know what Campus Ministry life is like in the PI
Much like what Nick and Derek were doing
Visit HOPE sites
The trip is going to cost roughly $2,000
However, it includes:
Airfare
Hotels which are much nicer than you would expect
Transportation while we're there
We will need to start fundraising soon to lower the cost of the trip
Please be thinking of fundraising ideas, even if you don't plan on going
If you are interested in going on this trip, please see Peter or Vanessa
Let us all keep in mind the things that we have been blessed with as we consider going on the mission trip to the Philippines this summer

Summary

1) Much has been given - We have been given so much, it is worldly of us to complain about what we don't have and not see that we are blessed with what we have been given
2) Much is expected - Out of His love, God expects us to have the kind of heart that is eager to give back to those in need

Mentoring underprivileged teens, connecting to the Third World, all these causes are calling out at us and we need to connect with them.
When we give, we are giving to the Lord because we are giving to Him - they are His causes. Whatever you do for the least of these, you also do for me. I truly believe that we must give as though we are giving to the Lord.

The UNITY that is important to Christ

Intro—

• John 17 (vs.11, 20-21 here) Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name—the name you gave me—so that they may be one as we are one...I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.

• God is using this Campus Ministry to reach the lost souls of the Phoenix Valley and the world!

• We've grown so much in our unity—5 highlights

  • Household and dorm hospitality has stepped it up!

  • Radical Random Hangout times (football and games into the late evening)

  • Super Spiritually focused times

    • Quiet times

    • Evangelizing together

  • Incredible Encouragements

    • Appreciating one another

    • Teaming up to go on dates together

• I'm confident there is no doubt God is building this Campus Ministry!

• Ephesians 2: 22And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.

• But the foundation of this Campus Ministry is still being laid!

• Tonight I want to talk about the foundational glue—that which "builds us together": The UNITY that is important to Christ

Body—

Main Text: Ephesians 4

1. Unity of the Spirit (read vs.1-3)

   1. Not man made unity—not formed by a special organizational structure

      1. Putting people in Bts can serve to many ends

      2. Not worldly unity—not clicks, "just who I get along with or what feels natural"

   2. Not feel good unity—not a unity just with those I feel good towards (vs.2 refutes that practice)

   3. Not a gimmick unity—not formed by slogans, creeds, hype of the time

      1. For example, we have a 4-fold focus as a ministry, but we're not unified because we have it, rather we have it because we are unified in Christ!

   4. Our unity is of the Spirit!

      1. The bond is so exceptional that its almost unexplainable

      2. The Bible's illustration of the Spirit—He moves like the wind, power felt but not seen

      3. Our unity is formed with a bond of peace that is done by the Holy Spirit!

2. Needing one another (read vs.11-16)

   1. Jesus allocates roles within His body where we best function together

   2. Just like the toe can't say to the foot, "I don't need you," we need to realize that we cannot function nearly the same without one another—we do need one another to mature, to grow, to glorify God!

   3. Rather, without one another we will not grow and glorify God!

   4. Really think about verse 16 and how you factor in as part of the body

3. Immunity (read vs.32)

   1. Noble thought: Forgive as Christ forgave you!

   2. You can't be forgiven if you will not forgive (Matthew 6:14-15)

      1. Oftentimes we can be blinded by our pride—I know from experience

      2. Believe it or not, we can think highly of ourselves in the way we're resolved with a person and yet still have an unforgiving attitude about them not being resolved.

4. Truth (sum up the parts because there are so many)

   1. vs.15 speaking the truth in love

      1. Two huge false assumptions that hurt truth-seeking and hurt unity:

         1. I'm surely being attacked! (and)

         2. I must always defend myself!

• Examples: Fred saying to Suzy, "Oh, look, there's a rare bird in our backyard!" Suzy snaps back, "I know, it's an oriole, you don't have to show off to me!"

• We can respond defensively in the most ridiculous situations, which shows our problem.
  

• Instead it is Christlike to practice responding in loving truth even if you are attacked.

1. I've done a whole lesson just on this point because it is so important to our unity

2. It is really an ongoing lesson—for me—on how to be a better disciple in communicating love over hostility

1. vs.17-19 "ignorance rule within" the ungodly—we can't let ignorance rule in us!

   1. I love this saying, "Be angry! But don't sin!"

2. vs.25-29 tells us to put away lying, falsehood, speaking unwholesome

   1. I know it is so easy to be conformed to the world in this way, but we need to be a spiritual ministry that fights the world off here!

3. vs.20-24 says the truth is in Jesus—in the new way of life He gives us!

5. You took off, You put on (read vs.20-24 emphasizing words took off, put on)

   1. We have a new life—re-created—to be like God in righteousness and holiness

      1. That says a lot about our unity—unity with God which brings radical unity with others!

   2. Starts with a new attitude in our your minds—

      1. In any particular situation that seems to challenge our relationships with others, a lot of times the bond of peace comes with surrender

      2. When by God's grace, we realize, "that was the old Peter, and now is the new Peter"

   3. Repentance is when change (from the inside-out) is taking place

      1. It is (by God's grace) our opportunity to take off the sin and put on Christlikeness

   4. We can practice this repentance when our apologizing includes something along these lines: "I'm sorry, that was wrong. It was something the past me would do. I want to change. Please pray for me and help me change for God."

Conclusion—

• Why is unity important to Christ?

  • Because being one as He and the Father are one:

    • Brings God glory (and)

    • It is how the world will know and believe in Him!

• God wants all of us in His Campus4Christ Ministry to continue to develop deeper convictions on becoming more unified

  • To know the glue that builds us together to become a dwelling in which God lives by His Spirit

  • Just like each of these points comes together to spell UNITY—These things and more come together to bring unity

  • Our Unity is the kind that is of the Spirit; our unity is based on having a Need for one-another; our unity also comes out of giving one-another Immunity; our unity comes from speaking the Truth in love; all this unity is yours because You've put off sin, and You have put on a Christlikeness!